Digital Fabrication Lab Launch Event on 11.12.2011

We will hold a launch event for our Digital Fabrication Lab on November 12. This event was originally planned for March 15, 2011, but it was cancelled due to the 3/11 Tohoku Earthquake. We will be joined by Jesse Reiser from Princeton University who is Director of Graduate Program at School of Architecture and principal of Reiser + Umemoto, RUR Architecture in New York; Tom Verebes from University of Hong Kong. He is Associate Dean of Architecture School and also Creative Director of OCEAN.CN in Hong Kong; Michael Hansmeyer from ETH Zurich, Institute of Technology in Architecture; and Kengo Kuma, Manabu Chiba and Yusuke Obuchi from University of Tokyo

The event will start at 3:30 pm, Saturday on November 12, 2011.

Poster was designed by Olesia Biloborodko, G30 2nd year student.

Columbia University Midterm Review

Kunio Kudo Studio from Columbia University held a midterm review with us today. Kudo Studio is developing a design proposal for Kisennuma, one of major cities devastated by the 3/11 Tsunami. The theme of their project is Memory and Monument for 3/11.

The University of Pennsylvania students in University of Tokyo

Ali Rahim Studio from The University of Pennsylvania visited Kengo Kuma Lab and G30 Obuchi Lab today. Rahim Studio is currently working on a large urban development project in Seoul, South Korea.

G30 Studio’s Wunderkabinett

We built new shelvings in our studio last weekend. We have accumulated quite a few study models over the past months, and needed urgently to make a place to keep them. They are not one of those polished final presentation models, but rather inspirational models serving purposes for simulating martial behaviors and formal/tectonic studies.

Joint Review with University of Hong Kong

G30 studio and Tom Verebes Studio form University of Hong Kong had a joint studio review. Verebes Studio’s students are working on a design proposal for the post-tsunami Sendai Airport and a potential Costal Urbanism for Sendai, Japan.

G30 Studio Prototyping Architecture 2.0 Began

We began G30’s 1st year studio workshop this week. The topic of the workshop is to design a vertical surface based on a recursive evolutionary system and component assembly logic.

Winter Semester's First Processing Tutorial

We started this semester's software tutorials for G30 students this week. Maya, Rhino and Processing will be taught by Daisuke Hirose, Junichiro Horikawa and Toshikatsu Kiuchi.

Holcim Awards “Next Generation” 1st prize 2011 Europe

Prof. Obuchi’s design team, Cast on Cast, from Design Research Lab at Architectural Association in London has received Holcim Awards “Next Generation” 1st prize 2011 Europe for their design thesis project on Efficient Fabrication System for Geometrically Complex Building Elements. www.holcimfoundation.org/Portals/1/docs/A11/EUR/Posters/A11EUng1UK.pdf

Pavilion Team

G30 Obuchi Lab + Digital Fabrication Lab
Prof. Yusuke Obuchi, Prof. Kengo Kuma, Prof. Jun Sato

Project Team
Jeep Prinya Nurongthanuvath, Taichi Kuma, Akinori Hamada, Deli Zhao, Olesia Biloborodko

with
Colin Lin Xuhao, Chong Wang, Maung Htoo, Yasemin Sahiner, Shuang Li, Maria Larsson
Ana Ilic, Guillaume Dumont, Dasom Lee, Yuta Ito, Ryo Saito, Lin Wang, Dana Milea

Minimal Surface Pavilion

Finished!

Minimal Surface Pavilion Construction Part 4

We have successfully transported our first Obuchi Lab+Digital Fabrication Lab full-scale project from our campus to the heart of Shinjuku’s Kabukicho MOA Street, and finished reassembling it as we planned (with unexpected rain towards the end). The pavilion is open to the public from October 15 to October 23, 2011.

Minimal Surface Pavilion Construction Part 3

We have been busy constructing a pavilion for the upcoming event in Shinjuku, Tokyo. We started designing the pavilion in mid August, and ever since, we’ve been working non-stop to materialize our design. We will upload more images of actual installation in Shinjuku in the coming days.

Minimal Surface Pavilion Construction Part 2

Minimal Surface Pavilion Construction Part 1

Minimal Surface Pavilion

Minimal Surface Pavilion
As an attempt to create a structure as light as possible while generating a complex spatial geometry, a shrink-wrap membrane was used as tension element connecting two independent rings together. The concept of Minimal Surface Pavilion was conceived as urban furniture providing a place to sit and to gather for passerby.

G30 Exhibition at Italian Cultural Centre in Tokyo

G30 joined an exhibition at Italian Cultural Centre In Tokyo. The event was organized as part of International Architectural Congress Tokyo 2011.